ENGLISH-IN-LAW. Textbook

witenagemot – Anglo-Saxon for ‘meeting of the wise’ Hist. a national assembly of noblemen, high ecclesiastics, and other great thanes of England who advised and aided the king in the king in the general administration of the government. Its composition depended of the will of the king. It passed out of existence with the Norman Conquest (1066). Although it was a precursor to the British Parliament, today’s body is not a continuation of the witenagemot.

TASK 1 a) ACTIVE VOCABULARY. Read and translate the text. Consult a dictionary to find the meanings of the following words and word combinations:

b) Consult a dictionary and find out the pronunciation of the following:

the witenagemot, the Althing

с) Complete sentences with the following words and phrases: council, devote, executive, judicial, legal, legislative, origin, raise money, raised an army, refer, share, summon, to issue a new law

(there is one word/word combination you don’t need):

1.The government has no plan … … to control rallies, Prime Minister says.

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2.James … … but snubbed the leading nobles by placing his favourites in key positions of command.

3.The jewellery sale raised £460 and we hope to … even more … in the future.

4.She soon decided to … her time fully to working in the market.

5.City … asks for an urgent meeting with the trade minister to discuss the location for a telecommunications operation.

6.Retailers and wholesalers provide information on the country of … of beef.

7.Residents whose homes were affected by severe flooding … their experiences with the authorities at a special meeting.

8.Opponents of a plan to shut a call centre want a … review.

9.We have said quite clearly that there is a strong case for a moratorium, given the extent of concern about the … loopholes and guidance which goes with that legislation.

10.Local law firm solicitors have provided hours of free … advice that would have cost thousands of pounds.

11.At the moment, the Dalai Lama is formally described as “the chief executive of the Tibetan government” and has the power to pass laws, … or suspend the parliament, appoint or dismiss ministers, and hold referenda.

12.What changes as a result of this referendum is that the assembly can pass laws in those 20 fields without having to … bills to parliament first.

TASK 2 a) Check how well you know the text:

1.What gave rise to first parliaments?

2.How was the power shared in the assemblies of early European tribes?

3.Describe ancestors of modern legislatures.

4.What functions did a medieval parlement exercise?

5.Describe the composition and duties of a parlement. What was the real reason for the king to summon this body?

6.Outline the history of Parliament. What dates can you mention? What do you know about the separation of functions in government?

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b) Comment on the following:

“With the separation of functions, Parliament began to develop as a purely legislative body.”

TASK 3 a) Consult a legal dictionary and define the following:

minor offence, minor court, minor case, minor crime, minor larceny, minor trial

Are there equivalents in your legal system?

b) Consult a legal dictionary and define the following:

major arrest, major case, major infraction, major investigation, major offender, major/grand theft, major trial, major violence.

c)What is a minor (n)? Give the definition of a minor status. Who can be called a major? What is a major status?

d)Answer the questions:

What can you call a minor mistake? What is a minor point in your opinion? What laws have undergone minor/major amendments recently? What do you consider as major problems in society? What major event has occurred in your life?

TASK 4 Match the words on the left with their definitions on the right:

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TASK 6 a) Look up meanings of the following phrases:

to hold a colloquium, to hold office, to hold Parliament, to hold elections, the rule holds, to hold suspect without bail, to hold somebody in custody, to hold somebody liable for something, to hold a convention, to hold a professorship, to hold a PhD, to hold an opinion, to hold shares, to hold somebody’s interest/attention, to hold one’s breath, to hold one’s temper, to hold court, to hold one’s tongue

b)Continue the list and find other collocations with the verb hold.

c)Comment on the following: “Fear is the only restraining motive which may hold the hand of a tyrant” (Thomas Jefferson, 1743—1826, the 3rd President of the USA, the author of the Declaration of Independence)

d)Define “hold” in the following text and find synonyms for this verb. Summarise the text:

Do you agree with the following interpretation of law, which intends to ensure that no one is prosecuted for the same acts in

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several Member States on account of his having exercised his right to freedom of movement? Scrutinise the judgement of the Court of Justice:

Mr Klaus B., a German national serving in the Foreign Legion, was tried for desertion and homicide, found guilty in his absence and sentenced to death in 1961 by judgment of a French military tribunal in Algeria. That tribunal held it proved that Mr B., while attempting to desert, shot dead another legionnaire, also of German nationality, who tried to stop him from fleeing. Mr B., who took refuge in the German Democratic Republic, never appeared before the tribunal.

After the judgment of the military tribunal, no other criminal proceedings were instituted against Mr B. in either France or Algeria. In 2002, the Public Prosecutor in Regensburg took steps to bring Mr B. to trial in Germany for the crime committed in Algeria.

When the new proceedings were opened in Germany, the penalty imposed in 1961 could not be enforced in France for two reasons: it was time-barred and France had passed an amnesty law in respect of the events in Algeria.

The Landgericht Regensburg (Regional Court, Regensburg) before which the case was brought nevertheless had doubts regarding the lawfulness of the new criminal proceedings. It asked the Court to rule on the application, in the Schengen area, of the ne bis in idem principle. That principle means that a person whose trial has been finally disposed of in one State in the Schengen area cannot be prosecuted for the same acts in another State, inter alia (=among other things) when the penalty can no longer be enforced.

In its judgment delivered today, the Court rules that the bar on being tried twice for the same acts also applies to a conviction which could never, on account of specific features of procedure, have been directly enforced.

The Court explains first that, in principle, a conviction in absentia (=without being present) can also constitute a procedural bar to the opening of new criminal proceedings in respect of the same acts.

Second, the Court holds that the sentence pronounced in 1961, in Mr B.’s absence, is a final judgment, even though the penalty could not be directly enforced given the procedural obligation to open new proceedings if he were to reappear.

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Equally, the Court rejects the argument that the ne bis in idem principle requires the penalty to be directly enforceable at the time when it is imposed; what is decisive is that the penalty can no longer be enforced when the new criminal proceedings are begun.

According to the Court, that interpretation is reinforced by the objective of the Schengen acquis, which is to ensure that no one is prosecuted for the same acts in several Member States on account of his having exercised his right to freedom of movement. That right to freedom of movement can be effectively guaranteed only if, in a situation such as that at issue in the main proceedings, the person can be sure that, once he has been convicted and when the penalty imposed on him can no longer be enforced under the laws of the sentencing State, he may travel within the Schengen area without fear of prosecution in another Member State.

e) Write out all legal terms from the judgement of the Court of Justice and use them to make up your own sentences on the work of the judiciary.

TASK 7

a)What does the word incorporate mean? Find this word in the text. What is the meaning of its prefix? Do the prefixes in the words increase and incorporate mean the same?

Study the following groups: include – exclude, import – export, inspire – expire, implicit – explicit, internal – external, impression – expression. Explain the meanings of their prefixes. Define: the explicit and implicit provision. What other nouns collocate with “implicit” and “explicit”?

Consult a legal dictionary and define the words “incorporate”, “incorporation”.

Explain the meaning of the collocations: to incorporate a company, to incorporate a law office, to incorporate a rule, to incorporate a proposal.

b)Study the meaning of the following words: literally, purely, rigidly, legally. What part of speech do they belong to? What suffix are they formed with? Find these words in the text and translate the sentences with them.

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c) Study the following words: ancestor, councillor. What part of speech do they belong to? What suffixes are they formed with? What do the words with this suffix denote? What other form can this suffix have? Find these words in the text and translate the sentences with them.

Fill in the gaps with “-or” or “-er” and define the following: lawy… , investigat… , barrist… , solicit… , prosecut… , police offic… , court report… , legal advis… , lawmak… , legislat…

TASK 9 Study the information and answer the questions:

to issue (to publish, to introduce) a new law refers to the executive to pass (to enact, to adopt) a new law refers to the legislature

What body/bodies can issue a new law? What body/bodies can pass a new law?

TASK 10 Study the following information:

legal – from Latin legalis, from lex ‘law’1) of or relating to law; falling within the province of law; 2) established, required or permitted by law; 3) of or relating to law as opposed to equity

Find the adjective ‘legal’ in the text. What meaning does it have in the text?

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TASK 11 Define the meanings of the word combinations legal action, legal advice, legal advice service, legal voting age, legal liability, legal profession, legal theory in the sentences:

1.Unless the money is paid immediately we shall be forced to take legal action.

2.The former chief executive of Swindon Town FC who was badly injured in a plane crash is seeking legal advice over the incident.

3.A free legal advice service for members of the public is being launched at the University of Liverpool.

4.An attempt to try to interest more young people in politics could see the legal voting age lowered.

5.When compensation claims are received they are considered on the basis of whether or not the Ministry of Defence has a legal liability to pay compensation. Where there is a proven legal liability, compensation is paid.

6.The Law Society has called for the centuries-old distinctions between solicitors and barristers to be scrapped under a united legal profession.

7.Legal theory and jurisprudence was a big area of medieval academic interest.

TASK 12 a) Compare the following definitions:

legal – 1) of or relating to law; falling within the province of law; 2) established, required or permitted by law; 3)of or relating to law as opposed to equity

lawful – warranted or authorized by, or not contrary to, nor forbidden by, the law

b) Fill in the gaps with “legal” or “lawful”:

1.A man who drove his step daughter to the hairdressers while more than four times the … drink-driving limit has been banned driving.

2.There are plans to make the carrying of identity cards a … requirement.

3.He said in order for the police action to be … , they had to show there was an imminent danger of public order offences.

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4.The Diana fund froze its charitable donations in July 2003 due to the costly … battle.

5.And he thinks that plans to hold terror suspects for up to six weeks without charge would “almost certainly not be … ”.

6.The … system in Northern Ireland is undergoing a major revamp.

7.The hiring of a £220,000-a-year chief executive at Suffolk County Council was … , according to a report by the Audit Commission.

8.Comic book company Marvel settles its … dispute with Sony over Spider-Man merchandising rights.

9.A jury returns a verdict of … killing during an inquest into the death of a man shot by a police marksman.

10.But an investigator has said he cannot hold a … inquest because of secret evidence which cannot be made public.

11.They have a free … advice service that can check out any contracts for you before you sign your life/rights away!

12.Is assault … when protecting someone? We don’t even think this question is … !

TASK 13 Study the following information. Find the noun “body” in the text. What meaning does it have in the text? Here

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2)a large amount or mass of something, especially something that has been collected – body of knowledge/ evidence/opinion, etc:

There is now a considerable body of knowledge of the different stages of childhood.

There is a growing body of evidence that charges are too high.

3)the main, central, or most important part of something:

The arguments are explained in the body of the text. Leave three blank lines between the date and the body of the letter.

in a body (=as a group, together): The women moved towards the building in a body.

TASK 14 a) Look up the meanings of the following phrases in a dictionary:

advisory body, administrative body, body of electors, body of opinion, body of laws, body of evidence, deliberative body, executive body, investigating bodies, law-enforcement body, legislative body, lawmaking body, student body, supervisory body

b)Answer the questions:

1)What other word combinations with “body” do you know?

2)What are the legislative (executive, judicial) body/bodies in your country called?

3)What investigating body/bodies do you know?

4)What officers collect the whole body of evidence?

5)TheEuropeanParliamentsupervisestheEuropeanCommission. What supervisory bodies do you know in your country? Do you have any supervisory bodies at your university?

6)Describe the law-enforcement body/bodies in your country.

7)How big is the student body of your university?

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